Hugh Jackman due for a ‘lonely’ Christmas as ex-wife Deb halts plan for their kids to meet rumoured new ‘love’

Hugh Jackman may be ‘in love’, but that reported romance may be the one thing to make this Christmas a not-so-wonderful time of the year.

The 56-year-old Australian actor may be spending some of the festive season without his kids because of his unconfirmed new relationship with actress and former co-star Sutton Foster.

Jackman reportedly wanted to introduce his new “love” to his grown children Oscar, 24, and Ava, 19, this Christmas but the plan was quickly nixed by his ex-wife Deborra-Lee Furness.

An insider told Woman’s Day that Furness was “not keen on the idea” of her children, who she adopted with Jackman, meeting dad’s new girlfriend this year — what would be their second Christmas after announcing their split in September 2023.

“It’s going to take more time for loved ones to adjust to the new normal and so that means Hugh and Sutton are bracing themselves for way less time together than they’d like during the holidays,” the insider said.

The source added that Furness, 69, feels like her ex-husband was “moving on quickly” after their 27-year-long marriage — which “she gave so much of herself to” — ended.

They said she didn’t want a “blended” Christmas and that “if anyone is going to spend less time with the kids this year, it’s him”.

The Australian couple shocked fans when they announced in September 2023 they were separating to “pursue our individual growth”.

By December that year, the first whispers of a potential new romance for Jackman were published by InTouch Magazine, which reported the 56-year-old was “romancing” his 49-year-old Broadway co-star Sutton Foster.

The pair played on-stage love interests in the 2022 revival of The Music Man, which ran for almost a year until January 2023.

Reports emerged last month that Jackman’s close relationship with Foster contributed to the end of his marriage.

Theatre sources told InTouch the romance between the pair was an “open secret on Broadway”; and Furness also reportedly had her own “suspicions” about her husband’s relationship with his co-star.

Then, in October this year, Foster set the rumour mill into overdrive when she filed to divorce her husband of 10 years, screenwriter Ted Griffin.

Neither Jackman, Furness, or Foster have commented on or confirmed the reports.

Furness has, however, with the help of a close friend, set tongues wagging with social media antics that point to her ex’s alleged infidelity.

Insiders explain that Jackman and Foster are well and truly “in love” but are determined to keep things low-key.

“They are 100 percent together and are in love and want to spend the rest of their lives together,” an unnamed source told Page Six.

“They are still together. They go out of their way to hide it, but it’s common knowledge.”